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Walk for Water sees 200 people turn out

There were lots of walkers for the Walk for Water held in Lake Oswego on Saturday.

Nearly 200 people showed up at Millennium Plaza Park to hoist buckets and trek to Oswego Lake, and also contribute money for a worthy cause. More than $5,000 was raised for World Vision, which will use every cent for drilling water wells in Zambia, Africa.

'It was exactly what we were hoping for, especially our first time out,' said event organizer Maggie Creps. 'We were thrilled with the turnout, the money raised, and the festival atmosphere with the music and refreshments.

'I couldn't have asked for more. It was very encouraging.'

The Walk for Water was meant to mirror what many Zambians are forced to do every day: walk 3 to 5 miles for water that is barely fit to drink. The money raised by the event will help transform these Africans' lives by giving them clean water.

The effort began with Bill and Diane Savage of Lake Oswego and gained strength from 10 families of Lake Grove Presbyterian Church, including organizers Creps and Luann Sohlberg.

The walkers were ready to walk under any conditions, but they were greeted by beautiful weather on Saturday.

In addition, there was a result that Creps was not expecting.

'While we were walking, a lot of people at Millennium Park dropped by to find out what was happening,' she said. 'They read about the water issues in Africa.

'This was really a second wave of people we weren't expecting. It was icing on the cake.'

Also extremely happy with how the event went was Beth Olen, project administrator for World Vision.

'The greatest part of the day is that we were able to raise awareness about the need for potable water in the developing world, especially Zambia,' Olen said. 'This is an event we will definitely try to repeat next year because, as one member of our group said, 'It mattered!''